Mercy Chef to Visit Springfield

March 15, 2011

Mercy Chef Geard Campione

St. John’s Hospital in Springfield is giving co-workers a taste of Healthification. The new initiative encourages co-workers to be well informed about the nutrition value of foods they eat. Mercy has partnered with NuVal, a nutritional scoring system, to help coworkers and customers make informed decisions. Overall, the initiative focuses on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Mercy Chef Gerard Campione of St. Louis will be at the hospital March 30 through April 1. He will be allowing co-workers and visitors the opportunity to sample a healthy whole grain barley risotto dish which will be featured as a regular menu option in the St. John’s cafeteria.

The reason whole grains are needed in our diets is because they help to regulate body weight. Regularly eating whole grains provides a 20 – 40 percent reduction in heart disease and a 20 – 30 percent reduction in type II diabetes,” Chef Campione said. “When people eliminate foods such as white bread, white potatoes, and processed white sugars, they reduce the chance of disease and avoid potentially substantial weight gain due to spikes in blood glucose and insulin. Food truly is the best medicine.”

St. John’s Healthification initiative reaches beyond the simple changes made in each individual’s eating habits. The hospital’s cafeteria has jumped on board to promote healthy living as well. Changes in the cafeteria include:

Mercy Hospital St. Louis has become the first Mercy facility to be certified as one of the world’s most technologically advanced hospitals by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).